Blood and Tears: End of Days
by SuperNeos2
Summary: The world had ended and gave rise to the Walkers. A small group of survivors outside Atlanta are just trying to make it through each day. It's a course for change as the story alters in many ways for Rick and the survivors in this re-imagining of Season 1! A Daryl/Carol fic done right!
1. Another Day, Another Kill

Disclaimer: Don't own Walking Dead

 **AN: Here it is. The first chapter of my Walking Dead series. This is a project I always wanted to do and now I finally have the will. There's a prequel to this on my page, so go on over to start at the very beginning.**

 **The plot for this will essentially be my own take on The Walking Dead show. We'll have some characters live longer, some die sooner, some new enemies for the group to face, expansions on some events and so much more. It's gonna be a fun ride I wanna share with you guys**.

Chapter 1- Another Day, Another Kill

A rabbit scurried from its hole in the middle of a forest terrain, shaking its body to throw away the dirt clamped down onto its brown fur. The morning sun beat down through the spaces between the tree branches, illuminating the area around the large rabbit and beaming a light down its rabbit hole. Its nose puckered while its eyes scanned around the vicinity for anything it can use for food for its young. If the rabbit knew how, it would've sighed at the ever growing sight of sticks and leaves as far as anything can see.

The rabbit slowly hopped down through the forest, its feet thumping on the many sticks and leaves without a single shred of care in the world. Its ears perked up when it heard something move in the bushes next to it. The rabbit halted its movement, eyes focusing intensely on that same spot while the furry animal waited for the first sign of danger so it could run to safety. Again, if the rabbit could, it would sigh in relief when nothing exited from the bushes.

When its guard fell, a whooshing sound echoed in the silent forest before something sharp hit the rabbit in the neck; ending its life before it got a chance to know that the end was here.

Out from the bushes where the arrow imbedded in the rabbit came from was a man with a crossbow and a look of small victory on his rough face. He was limping slightly, his right knee bent forward a little more than it should've normally been.

"Gotcha you son-of-a-bitch," he nodded as he walked forward to claim his prize. He felt the uncomfortable feeling in his knee surge back, but he did his best to ignore it. "Merle, come on out. Got breakfast here."

Stepping out of the bushes where the rabbit had its final staring match was a man a little older than the crossbow bearer. Instead of a bow, he had a rifle in his hands. His face had a grin that only spelled trouble.

"Atta boy, Daryl! Was two seconds away from firing on the critter myself." Merle glanced at the freshly killed rabbit that dangled from Daryl's hands like a yo-yo. "Kinda small for the both of us..."

Daryl tied the rabbit with a piece of string before attaching the dead animal to his side. "It's only the beginning of the day, jackass. We'll find more. If there's only one thing I'm decent at, it's hunting." Scratch that, he considered himself top of the fuckin' line when it came to hunting. He just didn't like to stroke his ego like Merle very well loved to do. It was one of their many differences.

Merle shrugged. "Can't argue there, boy." He agreed. He turned back so he faced the direction where he came from. "Come on. Let's continue our morning hunt." Merle walked towards and disappeared into the bushes from which he came. Daryl pulled lightly on the knot to test its strength before following after his brother.

Once they left, two small bunnies exited the hole where Daryl and Merle's breakfast came from not five minutes earlier. They looked around for their mother, not finding a trace. As if the world wanted them to know, the same beam of light that flew down their hole vanished behind the clouds, allowing for a new one to shine down towards the puddle of blood that rested in the open like an exhausted man on a comfortable bed.

The two bunnies slowly made their way to the blood. Once they made it, their black eyes sparkled as the two barely baby bunnies realized what had happened. They could only lie down in their fallen mother's wet blood as they were left alone to face the dangerous world.

...

Daryl smirked when his arrow landed smoothly in the squirrel's chest area, scoring him and Merle even more food for the day. They were about four days away from Atlanta. If all went well, Daryl probably wouldn't have to do much hunting anymore. If the stories on the radio were true, the city would be well stocked and filled to the brim with supplies. He could take a load off and maybe live however long he had left in some form of peace.

Although now that he thought about it, he would need to still play babysitter for Merle while there. Unlike when they were out here keeping busy, Merle would have to mingle in a stable society with authority and more people. He groaned. Shit. Now he was running through very likely scenarios that ended with them getting kicked out of Atlanta and right back here. Daryl sighed. Oh well, he'll cross that bridge when and if they got there.

He stepped forward to claim his sixth squirrel for the day. Judging by the sun, it was a little past noon. He and Merle had been camping out by their truck parked on the road next to the forest. After their raid on the clinic a few days back, they hadn't run into anything worth noting. A few Walkers here and there kept their blood pumping, but it wasn't anything to really write home about.

He bent down to take the dead squirrel, gritting his teeth at the familiar pain in his right knee. He got on his good knee for a second to allow the other one to rest. Merle and his asshole antics. Daryl would be lucky if this thing didn't get him killed by tomorrow. He definitely had his close calls so far, but he was still here. If Merle's Dukes of Hazard driving ended up indirectly causing Daryl to die from his knee injury, he would make sure to shoot the ugly bastard in his so he could go through what he was.

He should really take some more of Merle's pills. It might've not have taken all his pain away, but it definitely did wonders to help him be able to walk normally.

Once he felt his knee got enough rest, he stood back up with his squirrel held in his left hand; his crossbow dangling in his right. Hearing leaves crackle, he quickly turned his head to see a Walker, female and young, stumble out from behind the base of a tree. Daryl could see her brown hair was covering the right side of her face, probably glued down by the sweat and blood that her body must've produced before she literally bit it. What really made Daryl feel sick was the middle school uniform she had on, indicating just how old she was.

Daryl, since Merle was guarding camp, let out a pained gasp.

"Fuck..." He breathed out slowly as the tiny schoolgirl shimmied towards the younger Dixon, her small teeth clenched together and biting for him. Seeing as there was enough space between them, he pulled the arrow from his squirrel, rested the dead animal comfortably in his waistband, reloaded his bow, and took aim.

"Sorry, baby girl..." He apologized as his arrow soared from his crossbow to the forehead of the little girl, her tiny form falling to his feet like someone dropped a truck onto her back. Daryl took a second to compose himself before he bent down again to take his arrow back. Only instead of taking it from food, he was taking it from another Walker from his long list of poor bastards and now little girls that he put down.

Daryl had done some bad shit before. From shoplifting to doing drugs, he had done it all. But this? This made him feel worse than the time he first tried pot and boy was that a bad time for him.

He stared down to the dead little girl before he walked away perfectly fine, the pain in his head and chest outmatching the pain in his knee and making him temporarily forget.

He really hoped Atlanta wasn't a bullshit rumor.

He couldn't do this everyday.

...

Daryl poked the flames with a stick he picked up from the ground. It was still early afternoon, so he and Merle decided that they would chow down on some of the animals that Daryl had snagged. The truck they were driving in was parked on the side of the road, the driver's side open so they can jump right in and go if they needed to. Daryl could tell Merle was leaning against the back of the truck, admiring his bike that he wasn't driving to conserve some gas. That and because a high-as-a-kite Merle driving would result in one or both of them dead. Daryl repressed a shiver when the sound of Merle sniffing up some coke came through his eardrums. He was really doing this now? Whatever. It was fine around here for the time being.

Daryl ate some of the squirrel he caught earlier, poking and prodding the flames so the animal cooked right and wouldn't be gone to waste. A repeat of Merle's 'careful' watch of the cooking meat a few days ago was something Daryl would love to avoid. Half a deer... Gone. Gone because Merle found it hilarious to throw and pop pills in his mouth like some asshat clown from a carnival.

"Boy!" Daryl barely raised his head to acknowledge Merle's calling of his attention. "Food ready yet?" Daryl barely held back a roll of the eyes. Merle and his impatience was already a hindrance before the world ended. Nowadays where even sneezing at the wrong time got you killed, Merle's calling of unwanted and unneeded attention made Daryl eager to learn how to sew just so he could seal Merle's mouth shut.

Daryl prodded the squirrel with a few more pokes before he decided it was cooked well enough. He carefully took one of the two squirrels out by stabbing it with the stick he was holding. He held it towards Merle, who took it rather greedily from his younger brother. Daryl shook his head at Merle's ruthless eating of the animal before he used a second stick he had resting by his leg to take his own squirrel.

The next few minutes or so were empty with only the quiet sounds of the two Dixon's eating their respective squirrel. Merle would occasionally mumble something on how dead squirrel meat tasted much better than any fancy dinner those rich assholes had in what they had dubbed "Money Grubbing Rich White Asshole" Atlanta. Daryl found it funny how they didn't really care for the city, but now they were risking their asses to get there. Well, it was either that or die, so...

Daryl guessed he should've been honored that Merle thought his cooking of a squirrel was better than any fancy dinner, but he was high when he said it. Anything Merle says while high can be checked off quite understandingly in the 'Ignore' column.

"Hey," Merle started talking again. "I was thinking..." Okay, that was already a bad sign. "When we get to Atlanta, how's about we don't stay." Daryl pretended to be ignoring him, but he was listening very carefully. This was a rare occurrence where what Merle said would matter on what happens next. "The army is gonna be there, guarding the place and keeping the order of things, right? If anyone's there who knows about me, they'd lock me up in jail again. And I ain't going back."

Daryl sighed, though it came very close to sounding like a growl. "I told you, you idiot, the military don't give a shit about you no more." He thought he buried this back at Firesign Stadium. Back when Merle, admittedly, saved his ass from a whole army of Walkers with an Army Jeep. The same army jeep he drove while high and ended up crashing into a tree like some damn fucked up game of bumper carts. Merle was lucky his bike survived the crash and that they did as well, though Daryl's knee was banged up rather well from the impact.

Merle scoffed, "Yeah right. They's probably have my picture stationed over there like some kind of terrorist watchlist."

"Man, what'd you do that they would even go out of their way to go after you in the middle of the apocalypse? I thought you's got arrested for your biker gang deeds?" At least, that's what Daryl assumed. Merle might've driven their asses up to Jake's Bar for his stash, but he went out of his way to go after his gang, specifically Ash, for ratting him out. Merle was a crazy motherfucker, but he didn't come after you unless you really fucked him over.

Merle nodded. "Yeah... But it was something I did while still President of the club. Something involving me and an officer..."

Daryl's eyes narrowed. He stopped eating what was left of his squirrel to let that sentence hang over his head. Merle was waiting for him to figure it out, enjoying implementing a guessing game into figuring out his fucked up deeds. Said something about keeping Daryl sharp. More like it kept Daryl pissed and frustrated that Merle couldn't just take another second to say what it was.

Merle ushered for him to say what he thought it was. Lowering his squirrel, Daryl went to thinking about what kind of deeds Merle did while in his biker gang. Distributing weapons wasn't it as the gang was always careful to make sure that even if the cops knew, they couldn't tie it to them. Fighting other gangs wasn't it either since the cops really couldn't care less if two gangs fought each other over petty shit. Selling drugs probably wasn't it since the gang wouldn't have needed to ratted him out if a cop caught him...

Wait.

Daryl groaned. "You got in a fight with a cop because you got caught selling drugs?" He asked. He knew Merle was an idiot. Daryl could count on one hand the things Merle actually knew shit about. But to be dumb enough to attack a police officer? It seemed that Merle somehow always found a way to lower the bar on Daryl's expectations of his brother's intelligence.

Merle's lips tightened up into a smirk, like if he was proud Daryl got it on one go. "Yessir, I did. I won that fight, although the cop saw the President patch I had and mistook it for Ash's Vice President patch." He explained. "They picked his ass up, he caved and ratted on me, they picked me up, and when the world ended, I got out. You can tell the story from there."

"That explains why you went crazy on your pals." Daryl mumbled.

"Betrayal isn't something I'm fond of, Baby Brother." Merle reminded, taking bites of his squirrel as he kept talking. "Rats deserve to die, especially if it's to people who you call family." He finished his squirrel, dumping his garbage on the ground.

Daryl shrugged. Although he disagreed to a point, he wouldn't start an argument. A sober Merle was a pain in the ass to argue with. A Merle that was high? You had better luck convincing one of these Walkers not to eat you. Daryl was surprised that Merle wasn't being rougher. He guessed the feeling hadn't settled in yet.

"So... We still going?" Daryl asked, remembering how this conversation started with Merle's suggestion to not stay in Atlanta.

"Oh yeah," Merle nodded. "Too damn close to not at least check the place out. Whether or not we stay is somethin' else."

Daryl shrugged. "Don't matter to me." He mumbled, picking at his squirrel.

"Good..." Merle nodded.

Groans interrupted what can be interrupted as a bonding moment with them. Two Walkers shuffled out of the patch of trees across the road they were parked to the side of. Merle turned his head to peek over his shoulders while Daryl leaned back from his spot on the ground to look.

"Wanna get that?" Merle licked his fingers. It wasn't really a question by the tone he was using.

Daryl sighed, climbing onto his shitty knee and grabbing his crossbow that hung off his back. Daryl lined his sights up and fired, taking the tall and skinny one down with a clean shot to the head. He reloaded before taking a shot to the short one that looked like he was dragging his guts with him by his feet. How he was able to walk without falling before finding Daryl and Merle was bizarre.

"Grab your shit and let's go." Merle commanded. There was the asshole tone a high-as-a-kite Merle was easily distinguished by. "There may be more around."

Daryl kicked dirt into the fire, killing the small ember while he grabbed his string of four squirrels and one rabbit from the floor. Hovering it in his hand as he looked back and forth between the driver's seat and the bed of the truck, the youngest Dixon shrugged before he tossed the dead animals in the bed. He retrieved his two arrows before he promptly jumped back at the very close and deafening sound of the car horn going off.

"Fuck!"

Merle hovered his head from the driver's side. "Daylight's a burning, Boy. Let's get a move on."

Daryl bit down the wave upon wave of insults he had felt conjure up almost instantaneous the moment the horn went off. It wasn't worth it when going against a Merle that was high. Daryl really preferred his brother sober. He was an asshole either way, but at least he could have a conversation with a sober Merle. This kind of Merle? Daryl had to regress into a fuckin' puppy just to avoid needless confrontation.

Without a word, he took his spot at the driver's seat even though he probably shouldn't be driving with his knee. He thought about telling Merle, but he'd probably tell him to stop being a bitch; sober or not. He also thought about asking for some of the medication, but refrained because Merle'd tell him to get his own and at least one of them needed to be fully aware at all times. He was stuck with a bad and worse situation while being jammed between a rock and a hard place.

Still as quiet as the mouse he had to be when Merle was in one of his states, he started the truck and continued the drive towards Atlanta.

...

"One job... You had one job, jackass." Daryl mumbled to himself as he sat in the driver's seat of the truck. Merle was out of the truck, playing around with the engine of the truck. Daryl could still see the steady rise of the smoke that leaked out from the hood of the truck although Merle had popped the hood to investigate.

They were less than two days from Atlanta now. They were making good time and Daryl figured that if they didn't run into any roadblocks, they could maybe get there tomorrow But, like if the world decided to stick one to him, once his thoughts finished, smoke had begun to leak out from the hood of the truck.

Daryl rested comfortably in the truck while Merle looked around for the problem. He could hear Merle talk to the truck, asking it why it crapped out on them when they had been nothing but gentle to it. If Daryl hadn't gotten up before Merle, he'd suspect his brother was high. It was just him being stupid. Nothing abnormal.

Daryl took the time to roll his pants leg up. He hadn't checked his knee since Merle crashed the army jeep. He hadn't a chance with juggling twelve things at once every day. Guess now was his chance.

He winced when he pulled the pants leg over his knee. He caught himself before he groaned. His knee was swelled up. He could easily see the imbalance of color on his knee, signaling that there was something wrong with it. Daryl wasn't no doctor, so he couldn't diagnosis the problem. All he could rule out was internal bleeding as he would've probably died by now. It was either broken or sprained. Fucking Merle and his need to drive high for the joy of the experience.

He rolled his pants leg back down. Now they really needed to get to Atlanta so Daryl could have this checked out. He wasn't sure if having it go unchecked for a week and a half would have long term repercussions. He hoped it didn't. It would just make his survival all the more difficult.

He heard Merle slam his hands on the edges of the hood. "Damn."

"What's the problem?" Daryl asked, getting curious when Merle slammed the hood. Obviously something was wrong, but Merle would usually shrug and say oh well if that was the case. To slam his hands meant something bad.

"Engine is dead." Merle didn't even try to move from his spot. He merely kept glancing down at the workings of the truck, glaring at the fried engine like if he could scare it back to life. "I could fix it if we had the tools for it, but the only tools we have is our men exclusive ones." Daryl rolled his eyes at his poor joke. "We ain't going anywhere in this."

The younger Dixon sighed, "Guess it's back to your bike." And back to riding behind Merle's smelly ass. At least in the truck Daryl could roll down a window and have Merle a arm's length away. On the bike, he had to bury his face uncomfortably close to Merle's body. It was gonna be a grueling two days.

Merle shrugged, "Seems like it..." The sound of an engine approaching caught their attention. Merle smirked. "Or not." Daryl couldn't see, but he heard the smile in Merle's voice... And he knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Damn it, Merle, we ain't going grand theft auto on some poor bastard."

"I did love that game," Merle shook his head fondly. "I figured you'd be all for it considering you love riding behind me on the bike." Daryl heard the smile again. "Let's just see who it is and if we can, we'll take the ride." He ordered as the sound of the engine grew closer. "It's probably an asshole anyway." He shrugged.

If Daryl didn't know better, he'd think Merle was trying to justify doing something bad. He never did that. He just usually did what he wanted and said fuck it to the consequences.

A couple seconds later, Daryl adjusted his position so he was sitting in the seat buy facing outside. Merle was still behind the raised hood, but had his head tilted to the side to get a better look. Daryl described it as Merle having cover in case things went south. With Merle's decision to rob even though he had a perfectly working bike, it very well could go that far. Daryl couldn't understand Merle's thinking most of the time, but there were times when he had no chance in doing so; this being one of them. Daryl held his crossbow just in case.

Coming down the road was a bright red Sedan. Even from his spot Daryl could see the dried blood that rested on the hood. Looks like whoever was driving had done a run 'em and gun it on a Walker. The driver seemed to notice their little rundown truck, so whoever it was drove slower and slower as it got closer; probably analyzing them from afar.

"Chicken?" Merle asked quietly.

Daryl shook his head. "Don't seem like it." He debunked that thought. He's seen games of chicken. Even had one himself while at a sawmill looking for supplies for Merle after he found his intoxicated ass in Fontana picking off scavengers from the top of a police station. Merle seemed to accept it as he didn't comment back.

Whoever was driving stopped at least a good dozen or so feet behind them. Daryl watched as whoever was driving got out of the car. Daryl could feel the nerve in him lower quite a bit when he saw it was just a twenty year old kid.

"It's just a kid, Merle." Daryl whispered.

"Yes it is," Merle whispered back. His earlier plan, while still on the table, was looking less and less pretty the longer he stared at this kid. "We can still do it." He offered, waiting to see what Daryl would say. He was doing this for him, so his input would be appreciated slightly. Merle took Daryl's silence as a hesitant yes. Merle went to studying him.

He had dark brown spiky hair that was pressed down in the back. He had matching dark brown eyes that were borderline red, signaling his lack of sleep the past few days. A clumsily hidden gun was holstered in the front waistband of his dark blue jeans. His black T-shirt with a large white 'S' and 'P' crossed together in the middle had dried spots that pretty told the story itself.

"Good," Merle nodded. "Looks like a lightweight. Even with that knee of yours, you could take him down with just kicks." He gave Daryl a smirk when his brother turned to give him a disapproved stare, seemingly surprised that Merle would even know about his knee. "You're hobbling around like a girl that just had her first time in the keister." Daryl's face turned red. Whether from anger or embarrassment or both he couldn't tell. "After we get that Sedan, we'll have the doctors there check you and then we'll decide to stay or leave."

Daryl shrugged. He much rather stay in a safe place, but he wasn't abandoning Merle. You don't abandon family.

"Hey..." The almost forgotten boy took very slow steps to them, one hand raised while the other hung at his side; likely to go for his gun if he had to. "You friendlies?" Daryl could hear himself breaking down laughing at the question, but he didn't let it come. Merle? Friendly? Best joke he's heard in years.

Merle shrugged, having turned the corner from the hood and stepping out in all his tall, intimidating, smirking glory. "We can be if you don't have no quarrel with us." Daryl watched the situation carefully, not sure how Merle was gonna go about doing this. Merle eyed the Sedan behind the boy. "Sweet ride there. As you can see," Merle kicked at the dead truck. "Ours is a little beat down. You heading for Atlanta?"

Daryl focused on the posture and body language of the kid they were probably gonna fuck over. He wasn't paying attention to Daryl, only focusing on Merle's disturbingly friendly tone. Daryl didn't blame him. He got scared sometimes when Merle talked like that.

"Yes?" He responded, his tone questioning as he waited for Merle to do something stupid or threatening. Daryl was right there with this guy. "They were broadcasting on the radio. Said it was safe, protected, fortified, and had supplies."

"Would you mind allowing two good men to squeeze into that nice looking Sedan of yours for the last two days of the trip?" Merle had that jackass grin of his on his face, which made Daryl consider kicking him with his good knee. He might as well just say it, 'I wanna steal your shit.'

The boy looked back to his Sedan, eyeing it with a mixture of doubt and hesitation. Daryl could guess that the kid was maybe considering it. There was no reason for Merle to do what he was gonna do. It wouldn't do any good unless Merle was gonna kill this kid. He would come to Atlanta by foot and then they would be fucked.

Before Daryl could say something, the kid continued his and Merle's awkward conversation. "I don't know..."

"If you need Mommy or Daddy to talk, then tell them to come out." Merle offered. "I promise, we're not gonna bite."

The kid gave Merle a glare, "Fuck you."

"Oh, he's got a mouth on him, Baby Brother." Merle walked so he stood in front of Daryl, smacking his arm with his elbow.

"Damn it, Merle, shut up." Daryl aimed to try and defuse the situation as best he could.

"Why? We're just having a neighborly chat, right Kid?" He remained focus on his prey. Daryl was already playing out the next few minutes in his head. The kid remained still. Daryl couldn't tell if it was in fear or determination. "It's just a short ride. I'll even pay back the gas money if you want."

"It's not that, you ass." He shook his head. "I don't care about giving you a ride if it was just me." Daryl's ears picked up at the sound of that. "But..."

"Need parents permission to come on the field trip?" Merle asked, his grin still on his face. Maybe he wouldn't rob this kid and let him drive them to Atlanta. He was having fun having a pissing contest with someone that wasn't Daryl.

"Your jokes fail to amuse me." He glared again.

"Cole..."

Following the kid out were two more people... Actually, they were kids. A boy and a girl. They were ten and five respectively. The boy had the same colored hair and eyes as this guy Cole, but no traces of red were found in the kid's eyes. He was wearing a silver shirt with a dinosaur plastered on the front and had baby blue pants to accommodate it, rounding off with brown boots. The little girl had black hair that went to her mid-back and also had blue eyes. She had a white T-shirt on that obviously belonged to the guy Cole, looking like it was about to swallow the little girl up. Her little feet had pink shoes that were stained with blood and God knew what else.

Daryl's eyes widened just a little bit. Jesus, he had kids with him. Fuck it. They weren't doing this.

"Fuck..." Merle's voice groaned out in what could be mistaken as pain. Daryl didn't know what to make of that. He actually turned away to look at his brother. He saw Merle actually look very conflicted right now, most likely reconsidering his 'ingenuous' plan to rob the poor bastard named Cole. Merle rested his head on the top of the door. "Damn it all..."

Daryl watched as the guy now known as Cole turned back to the two kids that exited the car. He didn't have to see his face to know he was giving those kids a disappointed look.

"I told you two to stay in the car." He thought he was being quiet, but Daryl's default filter of silence and Merle's rare thinking over something he was gonna do made his hush tone sound like he was screaming. He eyed the boy. "Nate, I told you to stay until I said it was okay to come out." He sounded like he had this conversation before with the boy. Daryl recognized that tried tone that he himself used on Merle many times before.

The younger boy, Nate, looked a little ashamed at having disobeyed Cole. "Yeah, we know, but Melody really has to go."

"Go?"

The little girl, Melody, shook in her spot, "I have to pee." She whined, bouncing as she did her best to stop from pissing all over herself.

"Now? Can you hold it?" She shook her head at him, her face constructed in growing pain and agitation as she battled the losing fight she had going on. "Fuck," he ran a hand down his face. He turned to the Dixon's. "We'll continue this conversation in a minute." With that, Cole stalked back to the two kids. He grabbed Melody's hand and walked her behind the Sedan with the little boy Nate following him like a shadow. Daryl turned his head when the sound of the girl's pee hitting the road shot out in the quiet vicinity around them.

Merle wasn't mumbling to himself anymore, just standing there as his head hung over the open door. It honestly freaked Daryl out a little. He's never seen Merle this quiet, even when the man was asleep. It was a new path presented in front of him that Daryl had no clue how to cross or maneuver through.

"Hey, jackass," Daryl tried for habit, seeing where that would take him against this obstacle. "What're we doing?"

Merle broke out of what he was thinking about to give Daryl a shrug of his shoulders. "Color me fucked. I don't know." Merle gave him that condescending smirk that Daryl felt comfortable with facing. "I don't Sunny Christ Boy will appreciate us robbing a bunch of kids, even in this world." Yeah. Us. Daryl sighed. "Guess we'll see if we can hitch a ride."

"Why not just ride your bike?"

Merle let loose that loud annoying laugh of his. "We may or may not be out of gas on that one, Baby Brother."

"..."

Daryl lowered his head into his hands. "Then why did you suggest we ride that into Atlanta when there was no gas?" There were days Daryl wanted to know what went on in Merle's head just so he could help himself sleep at night with how his dumbass brother thought... Then Merle would say something idiotic again and Daryl would change his tune.

Merle laughed again, "Because I just remembered I was high and playing with the gas hole when you were hunting last night, a straggler came, I knocked him into my bike, and all the gas leaked out."

"So all that wasn't just blood..." He sighed. "Well, now I know why you were so eager to rob this guy." Merle gave a disinterested shrug as Daryl watched their company turn back around from the back of the Sedan.

Cole ushered his two child acquaintances into the Sedan, mumbling to them what Daryl guessed was a warning to not leave again without his say so. He couldn't blame him. Running into two rednecks broken down in the middle of the road with one being Merle and the other a silent fucker with a crossbow? Yeah, he had a right to be worried, although Daryl didn't want to cause this guy harm.

Merle picked right back up where he left off, "So, Baby Daddy? What's the final verdict?" Daryl groaned. Merle seriously couldn't help a case of his if Daryl gave him a script with everything he should say plastered in capital letters.

Cole examined the two of them back over, turned to look to his two kids, then back to them again. He sighed. "Get your shit. Weapons in the trunk and anything else you can keep on you."

Daryl shrugged. That was fair, he guessed.

Merle laughed. "Good on ya, Baby Daddy. Good on ya." He smacked Daryl's shoulder and to get him to stand up. Merle eyed his bike, then eyed Cole. "Can 'ol Betty fit in the trunk?"

"If it stays open, yeah." He answered.

Merle grinned as he and Daryl gathered their shit, with Merle guiding his bike out of the bed of the truck with Daryl lugging his crossbow, Merle's rifle, their few squirrels and rabbit, and a backpack with what little ammo and supplies they had.

"Name's Merle Dixon with the boy here Daryl." He kicked the back of Daryl's leg. Luckily for him, it was his good knee.

"Cole Jackson. The little boy there is Nate, my brother. The girl is Melody... She's a friend." He had paused awkwardly for a second, but he rounded off the introductions smoothly.

Daryl looked back at Cole as he packed the trunk with his and Merle's supplies. He saw Merle shake Cole's hand awkwardly and found himself in a similar position when he moved from the trunk and found himself looking at the two kids peering at him from the window. The girl Melody was tilting her head at him while the boy Nate was just giving him a smile. Confused on how to move, he just gave them a nod in return. He welcomed Merle's slapping of the shoulder as he rolled his bike towards the trunk.

"Asshole," he muttered towards his brother as he took that as his excuse to move away from the two kids. He met up with Cole, who still had his eyes trained on Merle. Daryl stopped in front of him. "Guess I should say thanks for the ride."

Cole shrugged, "Safety in numbers, right?" He sounded as about convinced of the excuse as Daryl did. "I'm not sure if this is the right way of saying this, but I'm not exactly comfortable with your brother riding in the back with my kids." Daryl almost cracked a smirk. This kid was smarter than he looked.

He gave a shrug, figuring out what the unasked question was. "Yeah, sure, whatever," he said. He shook his hand awkwardly, "Thanks for the ride." He mumbled, glancing at their shaking hands before he circled around to the passenger side. He passed Merle, who had finished getting his bike into the Sedan and closing the trunk as best he could. Merle gave him that grin, patting Daryl's back as he entered the Sedan. He didn't have to look to know the kids were staring at him again. He wasn't some storybook for them to look at, so why were they?

"Hi," he heard the boy address him. Daryl stared out the window, hoping the kid was smart enough to get the memo. "What's your name?" Daryl grumbled under his breath, watching the trees out the window. "I'm Nate."

"Daryl..." He figured giving the kid his name would end the conversation. He bit back his smirk when the kid didn't say anything else. Out of the corner of the reflection in the window, he could see the girl Melody open her mouth and close like if she wanted to ask him something. He never liked playing twenty questions, so he was fine with her keeping the question she had to herself.

Merle was waving like a jackass at the truck, bidding it a fond farewell before he climbed in shotgun. Cole entered the driver's seat, turning the key and flaring the car to life. Merle rested his legs up on the dash, folding his hands behind his head after he pointed forward down the road.

"Next stop: Money-Grubbing-Rich-White-Asshole Atlanta."

End of Chapter 1 of End of Days

That rabbit scene is chilling for me. It pretty much summed up the Walking Dead world in its brutality and the reality of the hopeless situation that is now present.

And yes, there are OCs. Why? Because I want to practice making my own characters for when I start publishing my own work. Trust me, everything is here for a reason.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Drop a dime to let me know what you thought. It's gonna hopefully be an awesome tale and the more the merrier!

Next Time: Treading Waters


	2. Treading Waters

Disclaimer: Don't anything associated with The Walking Dead. Just any and all OCs that you see **.**

 **AN: A big thanks to everyone who read last chapter. It means a lot to me.**

 **We'll get to know the trio of OCs that found Daryl and Merle last chapter as they continue to make their way to Atlanta. Fun times are coming, but we need to take our time getting there.**

 **And I decided to go and make this Caryl. Reason being that I always wanted to see this pairing done justice and - in my opinion - have rarely come across a fic that does so. I want to try my hand and slowly build that relationship up into one of acquaintances to friendship go lovers. Hopefully I succeed.**

 **Enjoy**

Chapter 2- Treading Waters

"What's the story?"

Merle let the question fall through his lips as he stared at the kid Cole. Daryl was taking watch, sitting on the roof of the Sedan while the two children Melody and Nate slept in the car. A fire separated Merle and Cole, both sitting on the road they stopped on to conserve gas. The two off-duty survivors were each snacking on some food they had; Merle on a granola bar and Cole on some candy.

They've been driving for a day now. They didn't run into any other roadblocks on their way to Atlanta, so they were able to drive for the rest of the day until it got dark. Daryl estimated it was eleven o'clock when they decided to stop. He volunteered for first watch, being stuck in habit due to all his times having to pull all nighters because of Merle's being undependable when he was high. Although maybe now he could get some rest.

Now that they had more accomplices, they were able to set up a better watch system. This way, they could have two well-bodied fighters and it wouldn't boggle down to an injured Daryl and a may-or-may-not-be-high Merle. Though there was still some unease between the two small groups, mostly because of Merle's comments and mannerisms.

Cole shot him a confused look. "What story?"

Merle scoffed, "You and them brats." He said as if it were the obvious thing in the world. "Where you come from? Your origin, boy." He motioned for him to speak. Cole was just looking at him like some painting hanging in a museum. "I'm bored and I want to know what's up with you."

Up on the Sedan, Daryl shook his head at his brother's persistence. To see Merle take such an interest in a guy they met not twelve hours ago was amusing in a way. Maybe Merle saw an opportunity to poke some fun with someone who didn't know him all that well and could get away with a little more. Oh well, at least it wasn't him this time that was on the receiving end of Merle's unwavering blabbering.

"There's nothing really all that interesting to know." He shrugged. "I told you before. Nate's my brother, Melody a friend, and I've been watching them since this whole mess of an apocalypse started."

Merle shook his head, "Uh-uh, no beating around the bush, amigo." He wagged his finger at him. "I've had my own fair share of lies to know when someone is hiding their skeletons. You ain't fooling me." He downed the rest of the granola bar before wiping his hands on his biker vest.

"You the first guy I met who actually wants to talk about other people's problems." Cole remarked. "Usually the kind of guys I meet like to know less about the people they meet. Keeps the tension thick and stops any funny ideas from being formed."

"Damn," Merle whined. "You must be a fun drunk." He shook his head. Daryl let his face smirk in the dark. He'd been thinking the same thing. "So depressing and melodramatic about the smallest things."

"I got drunk once and I don't remember jackshit about that night." Cole revealed. "Whatever kind of drunk I am is loss on me."

"I can find some strong tequila and we can go from there." Merle offered. He wasn't joking. He could really go for some tequila or alcohol or something right about now. His mouth was getting dry just thinking about it.

Cole chuckled, "Nah, man, I need to stay sober for the two kids in the Sedan there." He pointed a finger at the car where the two children slept. "Maybe some other time?"

"If I find any trace of alcohol, I'll be sure to toss a glass to you." Merle gave his signature laugh while Cole finished his candy, mimicking Merle from earlier and wiping his sticky hand on his shirt. "Well..." He waited, the two right back to where they started before with Merle aiming to pressure Cole into talking. "Your story. Let's hear it."

"It's not that interesting to know." Cole insisted. Merle gave him a disinterested raise of the eyebrows, showing that he wasn't finding what he said to be believable. "What? Why is this such a big thing to you?"

'Because now that you said no, Merle wants it more... And Merle always gets what he wants.' Daryl let his eyes roll upward before he resumed his staring match with the road ahead of them. He briefly checked the road behind them and the woods next to them before doing so, half-listening to Merle and Cole's conversation to make sure Merle didn't do something stupid.

Merle shrugged his shoulders, "You never been to the scouts? You usually tell stories around the campfire." He prodded the fire with a stick to keep the flames alight. "If we had marshmallows, this be the perfect representation of a night out in the scouts."

Cole bit back a small laugh. He still had his worries about the Dixons, but he had to admit to himself that Merle was a funny son-of-a-bitch. Daryl seemed all right. A little quiet, but an okay guy otherwise. He was a little relieved though to have others to help him in this world, all his worries and doubts aside.

"You're not gonna stop until I say something, are you?" Merle's smirk was all the answer he needed, his arms folded across his chest as he waited for storytime to begin. Up on the Sedan, Daryl waited for storytime as well.

Cole reached into his pocket, pulling out a chocolate bar. He unwrapped it before he began. "I was in a clinic when I became aware of the surroundings. I needed to pick up my medication."

"What medication?" Merle asked, already very interested in the story that was being told. Maybe he could dabble in his medication to give some to good 'ol Merle.

Cole sighed, holding up the chocolate bar he was holding. "I have a blood sugar problem. If I don't have something to eat with sugar in it, I get very sick. I'll get light headed and I'll pass out after awhile." Daryl felt a sense of deja vu for some reason as he listened to the story. "Anyway, I was there picking it up when they rolled this guy in. I know now it was a Walker, but at the time I didn't know what the hell was going on. After they did, this guy, big son-of-a-bitch, came in with his daughter. Little five-year-old girl with a bruise on her face."

Merle nodded as he listened to the story with Daryl looking down at the Sedan he was sitting on.

"I was still waiting for my medication. I was just watching this guy pull his kid around by her arm, seeing that he was hurting her. I was already very angry before I went to the clinic. I had just received a letter from the University of Georgia in Athens saying that I was let go of my studies because of my low grades. I lost my job at the market earlier that week as well and was pissed about that too. Seeing this guy hurt his little girl was adding fuel to the fire I had burning in my gut."

Cole nibbled on the chocolate bar, barely making a dent. "A couple minutes later, there was this scream. That guy they brought in bit a worker there. Things were getting chaotic and everyone there was starting to run. I don't know why I stayed. Maybe it was because I needed my medicine." He shrugged. "That guy stayed with his kid as well. We were the only ones left there that were alive."

"The Walker came strolling out, heading for the man and his daughter. I was frozen, terrified at seeing this dirty rotten corpse of a man walk around growling at us. So, I expect this guy to protect his kid like all dads do." Cole laughed bitterly. "So imagine my surprise when he shoves his little girl to the Walker to save himself."

Merle and Daryl did well to keep their game faces on, but on the inside they were pissed. Daryl's grip on his crossbow tightened to the point his knuckles turned white while Merle balled his hands into fists.

"That's when I moved. I grabbed the girl after shoving the Walker away. It bounced off the front desk and fell off to the side. I saw it get back up and knew that it needed to be stopped. So... I shoved it back down and used a stapler to bash its head in. I was so caught up in my frenzy that I forgot I had a kid watching me."

He sighed as he glanced to Sedan. Merle followed his gaze. "I told Melody to stay behind the desk so I could give her asshole father a talking to. He ran away like the coward that he was towards the back. I grabbed some scalpels and followed. I got there and the punk was bit on the neck by a Walker. I left him there to die, not seeing him as worthy to be put down." He recounted his venture in the clinic and seeing Melody's father bleed out on the floor. "After that, I took Melody back with me to my place when we saw the local police station overrun. My dad was dead and had turned, so I did what needed to be done." He sighed. "I found my brother hiding in the closet in his room, asking me why did Daddy try to hurt him." He shook his head at the memory. "When we heard about Atlanta, we started making our way there. Then we found you..."

Merle accepted that as the end of the story. He got what wanted from Cole. He didn't need to know anything else about this kid. Still, Merle had to roll his eyes at the absurdity of the tale. A kid having to watch over two children in this world must've sucked. Merle's final verdict on the whole matter was to cite Cole as a poor bastard.

Daryl shook his head at the story. It sounded like Cole and his crew didn't have the best start in this world. Having to scoop a little girl from a overrun clinic and then having to put your dad down wasn't ideal as happy beginnings. He watched his dad die, but he wasn't the one to end the suffering. Watching it was bad. Actually having to do the deed yourself didn't sound that pleasant.

"So you're playing the daddy to those kids now?" Merle asked, reaching out and taking Cole's chocolate bar. The younger man gave a small glare, but otherwise didn't do anything about it.

"Not 'daddy'," he corrected. "More like a guardian." He said. "Not only is Nate my brother, but I can't just leave Melody alone to fend for herself. She's a little girl. It's the right thing to do." He shrugged. What he didn't say was that he felt a sense of obligation to watch Melody.

Merle returned the shrug as he ate Cole's chocolate bar. He guessed that was true. While Merle himself didn't know what he would've done in that situation, he did have to give applause to Cole for taking care of the kids.

"Satisfied?" Cole asked.

"For now," Merle nodded. "But I'll give you some more time to keep it secret. You've satisfied me for now." He answered. He nodded at the chocolate bar he was eating. "Wish I had low blood sugar so I can eat as much of this as I want."

"Trust me, you don't." He warned.

"Hey," Daryl's whispers broke into their conversation. "Two Walkers coming down the road in front of us."

Merle and Cole glanced down to see that Daryl was right. Two Walkers, man and a woman, were making their way slowly down the road and over towards them.

"I was just needing the exercise anyway." Merle tossed the wrapper of the chocolate bar into the flames and stood up. "Mind handing me a weapon?" Cole sighed as he stood up as well to head for the trunk of the car. He grabbed a black handled hatchet and threw it to Merle. "Thank you." The elder Dixon nodded before he started walking to meet the Walkers halfway.

Daryl grumbled something about how he needed to keep this idiot alive and carefully jumped down to the road. Cole just brandished his gun towards the Walkers, waiting to see if Daryl and Merle could handle it without the need to draw more.

Merle grinned as he matched the female Walker's pace. He admired her low cut blood stained blue blouse with her cute white denim shorts. She looked to be in her late-thirties with her dark brown hair disheveled over her growling face.

"Bet you was a looker before you was bit." Merle nodded, waving the hatchet around to get a good feel for it. "Oh well. Guess it needs to be done." He crossed his arm over his face so the hatchet was ready to take a swipe to the Walker's head. When the Walker made it to him and took a lunge towards him, Merle sidestepped to the right and swung the hatchet around; taking the top part of the Walker's head off with a clean swipe.

The male Walker was about to make a move to bite Merle's neck, but instead bit into Daryl's crossbow as the younger Dixon finally made it to the action. Daryl shoved the Walker to the ground, his crossbow tipping over; the strap falling in line with the Walker's forearm and encircling around it on the way down.

"Damn!" Daryl grunted.

"You didn't take the shot why?" Merle asked, in amazement at his usually level headed brother making a irrational mistake like that.

"Because your dumb ass was in the way!" He defended. "You wanted me to shoot you!?"

"No need to get all pissy, bro." Merle shrugged. He glanced down to the male Walker wearing a pair of blue overalls with a name-tag that read 'Steve' and brought the hatchet down to his head. He pulled it out, grabbing Daryl's crossbow on the way up. He realized that the strap was stuck around the arm of the Walker he put down. "Okay then..." He lined up the hatchet with the forearm of the Walker and proceeded to hack away at it, squirting black blood on the pavement and his arms during the process. "There we go..." He was satisfied when the arm was loosened. He pulled the strap down through the stump he created, holding it out to his brother.

"Sick bastard," Daryl grumbled as he retook his crossbow. Merle shrugged at him, following him back to the Sedan where Cole was waiting for them. "Enjoying your day off over there?"

"Someone had to watch the kids." Cole reminded. "Plus, you two had it covered." Daryl shot him a dirty look before he shrugged. Whatever. Things worked out well enough anyway. "I'll take watch then if you feel drained." Again, Daryl shrugged at him.

Merle rejoined them. "Ending the night with a fight is always a good way to do so." He grinned. "I'm beat. I'll take a nap and wake up in about three or four hours to take my shift." He patted Cole on the back before handing him the hatchet. He opened the door to the driver's side and took a seat inside. Daryl shared a nod with Cole as he sat where he did before earlier that day inside the Sedan.

Cole held his position for a few seconds before he sat where Daryl was sitting before on the top of the Sedan. He un-holstered his Beretta from his waistline, reaching into his pocket to pull out a pair of black rimmed glasses. If he was gonna be on watch, he needed them to see better. He sighed. He didn't think he would've told that much to his two travelling companions. He hadn't said much of anything to the last group he was with, which made their forced separation by a large group of Walkers much easier for him to stomach. He only really told Merle anything because the man kinda scared him and didn't wanna get on his bad side.

Still, just because he told him something didn't mean he told the man everything - and he preferred to keep to keep it that way. Some secrets were better left buried, he thought as he rubbed his covered right shoulder.

...

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with a 'C'."

Merle leaned his head out the window, holding a pair of binoculars over his eyes as he let his body dangle. Cole looked ahead amongst the wreckage that they had stumbled across. Rows upon rows of cars were all lined up, sealing off any chance of making it down the road unless they found an alternate route. They were just a few miles from Atlanta now. They could get there by the end of the day if they could get pass this wreckage.

Daryl opened his door to step out and try and catch glimpse of what Merle was talking about. He first circled around the Sedan to get his crossbow.

"Is it a car?" Melody asked, playing Merle's game of 'I Spy' he unintentionally started up. She was leaning forward out of her seat in the back, her eyes trying to see as far as they can go.

Merle laughed, "Nice guess, Sugarplum, but nope. Try again." Melody frowned at being wrong, but quickly went to scanning the area around her for anything else that was within her small vocabulary that began with the letter 'C'.

"Is it a crow?" Nathan joined in, looking out the window as best he could since Cole refused to let the windows down.

"Nope."

"Oh!" Melody beamed. "Is it Cole?"

Merle laughed loudly at that one, reaching back inside to ruffle the young girl's hair. Daryl, who'd pass them at that moment, smirked at the young girl's guess. Cole himself found himself laughing too.

"You are now my favorite of your Child Squad." Merle told her, making Melody grin up at the elder man. While she was scared of Merle and Daryl at first, she'd quickly fallen for Merle's funny jokes and sense of humor; earning an offhanded comment from Daryl about Merle seemingly having a way with all women. That in turn earned him a smack to the head by Merle for "making it sound all creepy and disgusting since he was talking about a five year old".

"He's looking outside, Mel. I'm inside the car." Cole reminded her.

Melody pouted, "I know that!"

Daryl shook his head as he looked down the scope of his crossbow. "Is it that Chinese kid changing a flat tire a little ways down the road?"

"Chinese kid?" Cole put his glasses back on to get a better view down the road. Indeed, there was an Asian man down the road changing a tire on a Station Wagon with a sign on top that read "Bucky's Pizza" with the 'Y' in Bucky in the shape of a pizza slice.

"Please let there be some pizza in there." Merle hummed. "I could go for the double pepperoni and pineapple. Darylena over there likes the lettuce and squirrel meat on his." Cole's constricted face at that revelation made Merle smack his shoulder.

"Don't knock the shit until you try it..." Daryl added as he kept glancing down the road through the scope of his crossbow, looking to see if this guy was a problem or not. He didn't even have to look at Cole to know the reaction. He got that from everyone Merle told that little tidbit.

"I like olives." Nate added.

"I liked extra cheese on mine. I was never one to mix my foods together." Cole shrugged.

"Jesus, boy, where's your sense of adventure?" Merle shook his head in disappointment. "You go to restaurants before this and ask them for a Cheeseburger without the cheese?"

Cole's face turned red before he looked away.

"Oh shit! I was right?!" Merle laughed.

"Wow..." Daryl mumbled to himself, cracking a small smirk.

"Dad always said he was boring with his food." Nate grinned when his brother shot him a dirty look. "We were at Macon a few months ago with family and he was the only one to order french fries and chicken nuggets when everyone else got the fancy and cool stuff."

Merle let loose that hyena-like grin of his as he high-fived the ten year old.

"At least I like pizza..." Cole grumbled.

"Pizza?" Melody asked. "What's pizza?"

"You telling me you never had pizza?" Merle's face turned into small genuine surprise along with Cole's.

"Really Mel?" The little girl shook her head. "Wow, that's a definite shocker. I thought pizza was the universally loved food by everyone."

"I know I could go for some right now." Merle licked his lips rather creepily.

"Yeah, and looks like those six or seven Walkers coming could go for a slice with Chinese sauce sprinkled on top." Daryl relayed, getting Merle and Cole to focus down the road again. Like Daryl said, there was a small group of seven coming from where the Asian guy presumably just drove from. Poor bastard had his head down and was too busy readjusting the screws on the tire to notice.

"I gotta say I am tempted to not do anything..." Merle shrugged.

"That's not cool, man. What if that was you?" Cole asked, eyes widened at the thought of leaving someone to get eaten intentionally.

"Whoa! A) I said tempted; B) I would kill all of them if I was in that position; and C) Pussyleg over here will never, and I mean never, let me hear the end of it." He shook off Daryl's glare directed at him, laughing when he heard the mutter of 'asshole' coming from him. He motioned Daryl out of the way as he exited the vehicle. "And don't think you're just sitting there this time, Sugar Daddy; you're coming." Merle childishly berated Cole with a wag of the finger.

"Fuck you," Cole said. "Who's gonna watch the kids?" He briefly glanced back at the two young children in concern and worry before turning back go Merle.

"Lock the doors and roll up the windows - they'll be fine." Merle attempted to ease his seemingly growing worry. "How'd you even make it before us?"

"I didn't have much of a choice before..." Cole sighed. "Shit." He turned around to the kids. "Stay quiet and stay hidden. We'll come back after we help this guy, okay?" They nodded. "Say it."

"We'll stay quiet and hide until you come." They spoke in unison, showcasing the fact they had this conversation before.

"Good..." He pulled his Beretta out from his waistband as he locked the door before getting out and shutting it. "Let's go save the Pizza Boy." He followed behind Daryl, who was on point, and Merle, who was in the middle with the hatchet; which left Cole to take the rear.

Daryl lined up the scope of his crossbow with the head of the Walker closest to the Asian kid. Daryl's about to shoot a warning to the guy before Merle beat him to it.

"In case you don't wanna get your ass chomped - move out of the way!" His loud and dare-he-say excited voice boomed out across the abandoned road they were all clamped on. The Asian guy was alerted to their presence for the first time, his head jerking back and forth and up and down like a bobble head as he gained his bearings.

"Shit!" Was the first thing out of his mouth as he scrambled for the discarded tire iron by his knees. Before he was able to get bit by a second Walker, a loud ringing temporarily deafened him as its brains were splattered out from the back of its skull, the body falling to the ground. "Thanks."

"Thanks aren't worth jack if you're dead right after." Merle's voice radiated over them again as he picked up pace and implanted the hatchet into the skull of the third Walker. Halfway there. "Come on, Chinese Kid! Move it!"

The guy muttered a response under his breath before he took the tire iron firmly into his tense hands. Daryl had reloaded his crossbow and was following one of the Walkers with the scope of his crossbow to get a clean shot. Merle had regained his hatchet with Cole lining his sights down one of the remaining two Walkers.

Daryl saw his chance arise when the Walker stumbled over his dead buddy, falling face first to the ground and burying it in the dirty clothes of his fellow Walker. He launched the arrow to the base of the Walker's skull, taking his second kill against this mini group.

"Just like that boys," Merle nodded. "Keep on fighting. Make these assholes work for their meal." He grinned lusciously at the lady Walker he had coming towards him. "I'm on a roll with these dead bitches." He snickered at his own joke before he swung and swiftly took the top of her head off, sending it flying to the Asian guy's window; spraying blood and brain on the glass.

"That's not cool..." The Asian guy muttered as he swung the tire iron, knocking his Walker to the side, watching it stumble before he swung again to bring it down permanently when the tire iron dug into the eye socket. "And neither is this." He shook his head at the sight of blood leaking around his trusty iron.

"Two more, ladies!" Merle grunted like a Drill Sargent. "Don't get bitten now!"

"I'm gonna shoot you if you don't cut it out with that shit." Daryl glared at him quickly before he got his head back in the game, watching the last two Walkers lag towards them. Merle held his hands up in defense, blood from the hatchet dripping down to the road.

Cole shook his head at their antics, lining the sight of his weapon up with one of the Walkers. He fired and missed, cursing slightly before he relined the direction and fired again, hitting the target this time; the lone Walker left shuffling towards them towards a now losing battle on his end. Daryl ended the little scuffle with one last arrow to the head.

Merle surveyed the area around for any signs of more Walkers. A little grin came to his face as he saw the coast is clear. "All right Baby Brother and Sugar Daddy; I'd say we earned ourselves some pizza."

The Asian guy turned in surprise at hearing that, noticing for the first time that he was alone against three people now that the mutual enemy was gone. "P-Pizza?"

"Yeah. This is a pizza delivery car, right?" Merle shook his hatchet towards the sign on top.

"It is... Was... I don't have any pizza." The guy confessed, shrugging apologetically.

"Such a shame..." Merle pressed his face against the glass to get a better look inside. "I was actually looking forward to seeing Baby-Mel take her first bite of pizza. It's like a first drink. Essential to the human life and unleashes the best reactions to those watching."

"Baby?" The guy whispered to himself.

"Merle, get away from the China kid's car." Daryl tried calling the untameable animal known as Merle back while he retrieved his arrows.

"Why? I'd figure we earned at least something for saving his life."

"Come on, Merle, stop," Cole tried his luck at the impossible task of getting the eldest Dixon to listen to someone else's orders. "Leave the guy alone. He's already almost died."

"So did we trying to save his ass," Merle reminded. "I'm not saying to take everything..." He acted like that made what he wanted to do justifiable.

"We're less than a day from Atlanta," Cole said. "We get there, we can have all the supplies we can carry."

"You're going to Atlanta?" The guy asked. He received a nod from Cole, a shrug from Daryl, and more of Merle grinding his car window. "Don't go there! Place is overrun with the dead! You go there, you're asking to die."

Merle temporarily stopped his grinding to turn to the Asian guy. He glanced at him up and down before turning back to Daryl, who only gave a tiny sigh to Merle before he resumed checking out the stash that was in the Station Wagon. It looks like their original idea to go in and get supplies and possibly leave was gone - leaving them with only the leaving part. Whatever. It wasn't a big damper to their spirits.

Cole on the other hand...

"Are you fuckin' serious?" Cole groaned. The Asian guy's nod had him growling. "Goddamn it." He kicked one of the corpses they dispatched. "Now where am I going to bring those kids?" He asked himself.

"Kids?" He looked to Daryl for confirmation, who gave a uninterested shrug of the shoulders.

"Oh yeah." Merle nodded, having finished his eyeballing of the supplies after picking out some nice looking bathroom utensils he'll be 'debating' with the Asian guy to collect. "Two little ones are in that Sedan back there." He pointed out to the vehicle they traveled here in.

Cole kept looking at the corpses, on his knees now as he repeatedly mumbled 'What am I going to do' over and over again. His head was spinning, not sure if that was from his sugar depletion or from the stress he easily felt take him over. He didn't have any other ideas on where to go and he wasn't sure if he was gonna stay with the Dixons to venture off into the unknown. They agreed to Atlanta - not some road trip to another mythological safe haven located in the middle of humanity's greatest catastrophe. He was D-O-N-E fucked.

The Asian guy looked back and forth between the three men that saved his ass and the Sedan - catching sight of two tiny figures looking at them. He bowed his head in thought, nodded, and looked back at the knelt down Cole.

"There's a camp..." He began, seeing Cole look up at him. "There's a camp a mile away from here. Good distance from the city. No dead have made it up there yet. If you want," he looked to the Sedan. "You can bring your kids there and join up." He looked to Daryl and Merle. "It's safe. You won't have to worry."

Merle grinned. "Well now, that's certainly an offer too good to pass up." He looked at Daryl. "What you say, Baby Brother? Up for joining the Pizza-Man's camp?" Merle was a little excited to hear that. He was much more comfortable in the wilderness than the big city - so a camp that was supposedly safe with others Merle can use to have fun with other than Daryl and Cole? Sign him up.

"Better than the supposedly infested streets of Atlanta, I guess." Daryl shrugged. While the idea of a larger group other than his brother and the 'Child Squad' unsettled him a tiny bit - a opportunity to take it easy as much as he could in this world could do good for him... plus he could rest his knee properly and hope for a smoother recovery.

Cole's face exploded into an excited smile that looked like it belonged to the little girl he was caring for. "Thank you!" He stood back up. "Thank you!" He could give the man a hug.

The man smiled, "It wouldn't be right to leave people who saved my ass when they have kids with them - especially when I know somewhere they can go for safety."

"How big is your group?" Cole asked. Daryl and Merle tuned back in.

"Last I counted, somewhere close to twenty." The guy confirmed. "There's also other kids there, so yours won't feel left out." He said.

Cole smiled. "I'm forever indebted to you for this." He held his hand out. "Name's Cole. The guy that grinded against your car is Merle and the crossbow dude is Daryl."

The guy outstretched his own hand and shook back. "Glenn. Get in your car and you can follow me back."

...

The tension between the two groups was never more clear the moment Merle made his presence known. Glenn had exited first to explain the new recruits he had picked up, hoping to keep any and all uncertainty to the absolute minimum. Daryl and Cole agreed that was smart - even Merle seemed to agree as well, but that didn't last long, the elder Dixon waiting a good thirty seconds before he exited the car.

"Boys and girls! Children of all ages! Your boy Merle has arrived!" He had shouted as he exited the Sedan. Daryl had to follow him to try and hold his ass back. "No need to be afraid anymore! I'll help keep you all safe! Especially the ladies!" He grinned at two blonde woman, who were now looking at him in disgust.

Daryl cursed himself for not double checking to make sure he took everything away from Merle that could make him high. He didn't believe his brother when he stopped his boisterous yelling to quickly tell him that he was fine. No sane asshole was dumb enough to yell at a new group you were trying to befriend at the end of world.

Actually, scratch that - it was Merle Dixon after all.

A man with a shirt bearing the golden badge insignia of the police force was looking at Merle like if the devil himself had waltzed into his domain. He looked to Glenn, who had his head buried in his hand in embarrassment that his newest recruit for the group was yelling like a jackass. Every other person Glenn had brought up to the camp at least waited to be spoken to to try and let tensions die. Merle seemed to be watching the bar and pushing it back up when he felt it got too low.

"Glenn..." The man spoke in a warning tone that had the poor Asian stiff in his spot.

"They saved my life, Shane - what was I supposed to do? Be ungrateful and leave them to go to Atlanta?" Glenn dreaded that this would happen - with Shane getting annoyed at more mouths to feed when they barely had enough to go around for the people already here - but he hoped that wouldn't be the case. It might not have if Merle would've stayed quiet for a few minutes instead of a few seconds; and where the hell was Cole? Maybe seeing the kids would help sway Shane's decision.

"No, but we barely have enough to go around as it is," he took off his police ball cap to wipe off the sweat that poured down his head. "You know that. Most of the stuff we have comes from your little raids into the city - and that barely holds us together."

"I already called dibs on the toilet paper, so don't get any funny ideas, officer." Again, Merle made the situation even more awkward by opening his mouth. Shane was narrowing his eyes at him and Glenn was looking at him like a deer in the headlights begging for him to shut up.

"Merle, shut the fuck up!" Daryl growled at him. Merle shrugged, letting the eyes of the group watch and listen to him whistle the theme to Batman. Daryl resisted the ever growing urge to smack him upside the head - he was probably doing this on purpose to probably get them kicked out. Where the fuck was Cole? He could use the tag out and let him try and speak to Merle, however pointless it'll be.

Shane shook his head, "People like that? I don't think folks here will feel comfortable." Though this guy Merle was just acting like an immature and loud asshole, he's seen enough criminals in his time to read between the lines in behavior. He wasn't giving that friendly vibe that would keep the peace here.

"'People like that?' Wow, you sure ain't one for subtlety and discretion - we're still standing right here, Police Man."

Daryl gave up. They were done. He just leaned against the Sedan, waiting for the excruciating painful conversation to end. He peeked his head over to see why Cole hadn't come out yet, seeing him try and convince Melody that it was okay.

"Come on, Mel - it's okay. No one's gonna hurt you here." He heard Cole whisper to her. Nate was looking confused on what to do while Melody was shaking her head, too shy to even give these people the benefit of the doubt, which amused Daryl. Melody was fine around Merle, but was wary of a police officer.

"I ain't got nothing to hide," Shane was continuing the conversation with Merle. "Hiding stuff isn't gonna do anything but make the situation more difficult. Best to just cut the middle part and avoid the bullshit."

Merle gave his signature whooping laugh. "Remove that stick up your ass and we could be friends." Glenn had mimicked Daryl's position, hiding his face in the trunk of his station wagon to do 'inventory check' to avoid the looks he was getting from the group behind Shane for bringing someone like Merle up here. "I like that about a person. Having fun is good a large portion of the time, but sometimes dancing around the broken glass isn't the smartest option."

Daryl checked on Cole's progress with Melody, now seeing that she was nodding her head. He had an inkling that maybe, just maybe, seeing these kids would bury any growing animosity between the two factions. Hell, they stopped Merle from robbing Cole when they met yesterday. He silently awaited the outcome.

Cole exited the vehicle, all eyes now on him watching his movements - even Glenn, who was silently thanking Cole for about to show the main reason why he took them here. He helped Melody out of the car, holding the little girl's hand to ensure she didn't fall.

"Jesus," a brown-haired woman whispered as she held the hand of a ten-year old boy. "She's just a baby."

Melody was hiding her face in Cole's leg with her arms wrapped around it, remembering his promise about not having to see or talk to anyone she didn't want to. Cole was caressing her hair gently to let her know it was fine. Nate followed after, seeing all eyes watching them. Feeling self-conscious, he slowly retreated behind Cole.

Shane was staring in awe. He turned to share a look with the brown-haired woman. Obviously no one was expecting two little kids to be in the same group with someone like Merle. Suddenly, Glenn was looking less and less dumber for his decision.

"About time, Sugar Daddy - what kept ya?" Merle asked. He figured that there was no way a 'nice and kind' police officer like Shane would kick them away when they had two kids with them under the age of thirteen - so he broke out one of his many jokes to irritate the people. It was probably risky, but he shrugged off the small worries. He saw an opportunity for some fun and simply took it.

"Melody was feeling shy. I had to convince her it was okay." He explained. Cole noticed that he was being watched. His eyes darted around from person to person to try and figure out what to say. He looked to Daryl for some help, only getting the sight of the man cleaning his arrows with his red rag.

"She don't need to be shy when 'ol Merle is here to help protect her from the big bad police man." He looked at the little girl who was poking half her face out to see what was going on. "Hear that Baby-Mel? These clowns ain't gonna hurt you." Melody nodded slowly, but she still kept half her tiny form hidden in Cole. "Same with you, Nate 'ol buddy. No need to hide behind Sugar Daddy." Nate breathed easier - taking a position on Cole's other side.

Shane let the comment go since he was seemingly trying to make a little girl comfortable with the situation at hand. Sharing a nod with the woman, he turned back to the group of five.

"It would be really terrible of me to send you all away when you have two little kids with you." He said.

"What'd ya know - I was thinking the same thing, Officer." Merle grinned. "And about the supply issue - don't worry your little head about it. Me and my brother here can hunt with the best of them and Sugar Daddy here has a good heaping of food he's willing to share. Most of it is candy too." The attention of every kid in the camp was earned that comment.

"That true?" Shane asked with a smile.

Cole nodded. Although he thought about saying he needed that candy or lie and say no, he didn't want to erase the progress that was made here. Plus, he couldn't think about saying no with the hopeful and excited looks the kids were giving him.

"Then I guess the verdict is in," Shane nodded. "Welcome. The name's Shane Walsh."

"Cole Jackson." Cole felt it'd be best if he did introductions. Merle already made things awkward enough and Daryl didn't look eager to join in the talk. Cole just realized Daryl hadn't given these people the courtesy of hearing him speak. "You already know Merle, obviously; that's his brother Daryl," said man gave a raise of the head and a small nod. "Little guy here is my brother Nate and the little cutie pie here is Melody." Melody smiled shyly while Nate gave a small wave.

"She your daughter or sister or something?" Shane asked.

"No. Found her amongst this whole ordeal. Decided it was only right to watch over her." Cole explained, his voice dropping just a tad bit as he spoke.

"Noble man," Shane nodded. "I can respect that." He briefly glanced at the woman and her son before he turned back to Cole and the others. "Well, let's get you settled in."

Cole and the Dixons each nodded as they began to unpack their stuff.

End of Chapter 2 of End of Days

We're now at the camp and we'll get busy with the building of relationships between the cast. Not romantic just yet, but friendships and such that'll be essential for the future of the story.

And don't think I revealed all of Cole's backstory. The surface has barely been scraped and we'll get to know more as the story goes on. I will say that by Season 1's end, you'll know all there is to know about his past.

For those who love to go in depth, there's some heavy foreshadowing in here. It doesn't make sense now, but you'll be able to come back to this chapter and go 'Shit, it's so obvious!'

Hopefully you enjoyed and remember to drop a dime if you liked it. Or hated it. I'm always looking for improvement. Hey, maybe if I get enough reviews I'll put Batman Arkham Knight on the back burner to continue this quicker ;)

Next Time: Sugar Shock


	3. Sugar Shock

Disclaimer: Don't own The Walking Dead. Just any and all OCs **.**

 **AN: I'm sorry for being late. I was in the middle of something important that held me back from working on this. I was also outlining the rest of the second and third season for this. In case you're wondering, I already know what's happening in this season, 4, and 5 down to the tee. It's Seasons 2 and 3 where we'll start seeing a lot of diversion from the canon so I needed to outline and work on it so it makes sense.**

 **Once again, thanks to all who left a review, put this on their favorites and/or alerts, and just for clicking on the story. Every response helps me to motivate to hone my craft so I can become the best that I can be.**

 **We hit a little down time here as the Dixons and Cole's crew settle into the Atlanta camp. We'll start to see the beginnings of friendships that'll be pivotal to the story and some may be more important than they seem.**

 **Enjoy**

Chapter 3- Sugar Shock

Three days had gone by since Glenn had brought the Dixons and Cole's little ragtag crew up to the Quarry. Now that the promise of a safe haven in Atlanta was stripped away, the five newcomers were now trying to make due in the group of about twenty or so survivors. While the two children weren't looked at twice, the three men that showed up with them had been giving second glances over the seventy-two hours they'd been here.

Cole was probably the one that was looked at the least due to his less than intimidating stature and the fact that Nathan and Melody had been with him since the start. He wasn't second guessed by the group after the second day. The Dixons on the other hand were. Merle hadn't made the settling in any easier with his idiocy and his constant remarks about anything and everything that happened. Hell, he proudly shouted out 'Sugar Tits' and 'Sweet Buns' as his nicknames for sisters Amy and Andrea from the other side of the camp. The only ones that hadn't heard were the Walkers in the city. He was by far the least liked.

As for Daryl - his quiet nature gave everyone assumptions other than the possibility that he was just shy. With an older brother like Merle perving on two women while he just sat there doing his own thing - it gave the assumption that he was just like him. After all, little brothers did follow and imitate the older one; so why wouldn't Daryl be just like Merle. Being rednecks did little to help their cause, not that they really cared.

"And we're the supposed racists?" Merle had laughed to Daryl the second night at their own little private part of the camp. It was silently decided by the Dixons that it be best if they stayed away from the general public. "Hypocrisy, little brother - the human race's greatest virtue. Point fingers towards others for doing exactly what you like to do." Like a bobblehead, Daryl had nodded.

"Whatever. So long as they don't get in our faces about it, let them gossip and point fingers like little schoolgirls."

Merle grinned, slapping Daryl's bum knee while the younger Dixon resisted an urge to groan. "There you go!" The rest of the night after that was mostly just campfire stories with Merle's occasional and unwanted commentary when he felt something funny had happened. It wasn't a fun night if your name was Daryl Dixon.

Now they were in the fourth day. Dale was up on the RV doing his usual watch with the others members of the group going about their business and daily activities. The only ones not present at the moment were Daryl and Merle - having likely gone hunting.

Cole was sitting on a log trying - and failing - to brush Melody's hair now that there was a brush to use. He would occasionally glance up to where his brother was - the younger Jackson sibling hanging out with the other kids of the camp.

"You're really bad at this." Melody gave a sneaky grin as she felt Cole fumble with the brush through her long black hair.

"Give me a break, Mel, I am trying here..." He already felt embarrassed from the smirks he was receiving from the group. He didn't need Melody to hammer home the fact he sucked at brushing hair. He could see that just fine.

"I know. I just like teasing you." She smiled.

He smiled back, his hand still struggling to get all the knots out of her hair. "Yeah I kinda figured that out when you laughed at me for tripping over my own two feet a week ago."

Melody grinned as the memory replayed in her head. "How does a badass like you trip over your own feet?"

Cole's eyes widened at the language that escaped the little girl's mouth, having paused his horrid brushing of Melody's hair in shock. "Hey Mel, where'd you hear that word?"

She blinked in confusion, "Is it a bad word?" She turned her head to look at Cole for his answer. He nodded his head. She immediately covered her mouth with her hands. "Sorry!" She muffled behind her tiny hands.

"It's okay, hun, you didn't know." He rubbed her head affectionately. "Let me guess though... It was Merle, right?" Her head moved up and down. "Don't repeat anything he says. Ever."

Melody lowered her hands from her mouth. The two sat in silence while Cole grew closer and closer to snapping and giving up on brushing her hair. If the brush wasn't Lori's, he'd throw it in frustration. Cole resumed checking on Nate, seeing him engage in a game of tag with Lori's son Carl; the other kids not far behind.

He had his doubts about settling in another group. The last one didn't work out so well with everyone keeping to themselves and really only staying together for convenience. The true colors of the group - himself included - emerged when a small group of a dozen Walkers showed up at their camp site. Everyone grabbed their kin and bailed, not looking back to see if others had made it out or not. Cole was quick to call them selfish before reigning the criticism back when he realized he had done the same. He was happy that Glenn offered him and his kids sanctuary, but in the back of his mind, he was waiting for the isolation to return.

This group was definitely nothing like the old one. The people here actually talked and encouraged interaction amongst the group - the only exception being in regards to Daryl, Merle and from what he observed these last few days, Carol's husband Ed. Other than those three, someone was always talking to someone about anything and everything. It kind of ached at him that they brushed Daryl and Merle off, but he would be lying if he said he didn't know why. Merle was kind of nuts and it would take someone with real patience and balls to keep a conversation with the guy going; while Daryl didn't exactly give people a reason to approach him. Had he been here before the two, he wouldn't bother with them either.

"I like Merle," Melody broke the silence, catching Cole off guard as he slipped out of his thoughts. "He's funny. He's a little weird too, but I don't care. Daryl's cool too." She stared around at the buzzing camp. "How come the people here don't like him and Daryl?"

As much as Cole loved talking with Melody, he wished she wouldn't ask questions like that. He hated having to try and beat around the bush in regards to people and how they feel about one another. He'd been there and done that so much that he nearly lost it at one point. Explaining it to someone else was just as bad to him. He still had Nate asking questions about Sage.

He sighed, "It's not that they don't like them, Mel. Daryl and Merle are what you call... Intimidating people." He nearly stopped talking. That sounded like shit. "They aren't bad people, but they like to joke around too much; especially Merle." Cole hadn't actually heard Daryl make a joke. Whatever, as long as Melody accepted his answer. "People don't like that kind of person. Once they get to know them, they'll come around." He explained. "Why? Is something bothering you?"

Melody shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know..."

Cole finally gave up his tired attempt of brushing Melody's hair. Maybe he could beg Lori for some help as she was the one who offered him the brush in the first place. Maybe he could slip some candy her son's way as payment. He knelt down to the ground to level his head with Melody. "What's wrong, Mel? Why're you so sad?"

She shrugged again, "I don't like seeing people be left out. My daddy used to leave me out of a lot of things. It made me sad." Cole was breathing in and out his nose harshly to clench his anger he felt bubbling in his chest. "I just don't want Daryl and Merle sad because they're being left out."

Cole had to give a light hearted chuckle, "Sweetie, believe me when I say that Daryl and Merle aren't sad. They don't care about that."

"Why not?"

"I don't really know, but I can guess. Daryl and Merle are the type of people who would tell you that they don't care about what you think of them. If someone tells them that they're stupid, they'll just tell them to be quiet and they don't care about what you think. It's called being self assured, Mel. It's a wonderful feeling everyone should have."

"Are you self assured?"

Cole shook his head, "I wish..." He saw Melody frown at him. He took two of his fingers to curl her lips upward into a smile. "Hey, don't frown like that. Pretty girls don't frown, they smile."

His compliment had her smiling on her own, "Thank you,"

"You don't need to thank me for telling you the truth." Cole ruffled her hair. He hadn't made much progress for it to be slightly distinguishable that he had sent more strands back upward to their starting place. "And about Daryl and Merle being left out, we can see if they would like some company when they come back from their hunt, okay?"

Melody nodded. "Are you gonna try and brush my hair again?" She was giving a cute malicious grin.

"Nope," he shook his head with a smile of his own. "I'm gonna ask Lori if she can help me with it." He motioned for her to follow him over to the spot where Lori was currently sitting and helping Amy fold up the clothes. Cole hadn't made it a step before he grabbed his stomach. "Ah..." He whispered.

"You okay, Cole?"

"Yeah," he winced. "I just need to sit down for a second..." He sat on the log he previously occupied. He felt his head get heavy and his eyelids slowly get harder and harder to keep open. He knew right away what it was. "Melody," his voice was barely above a whisper; he was in pain. "I need you to get something with sugar."

"Like what?" Her worried tone was moving as fast as her heartbeat probably was. Cole knew she got scared easily when something out of the ordinary happened. This was her first time seeing him about to enter a sugar coma.

"Candy," he replied. "I have some left in my book-bag." Melody nodded and rushed for her tent. Cole was fighting his hardest to stay upright, not eager to send the camp into a worry over his predicament. He was going over in his head why this was happening all of a sudden. He hadn't suffered the signs of a sugar attack for two months now. Damn! He knew he was gonna suffer from not getting those pills. But he had the candy... The same candy he gave Melody last night because her stomach growled. Shit. There was his answer.

He was relieved when Melody came running back with a chocolate bar. She handed it to him, to which he wasted no time in unwrapping and eating it. Slowly, he felt himself relax and get better.

"Thanks, Sweetie." He smiled at her. To his confusion, she didn't smile back.

"What happened?" Her voice was like his was before. "Why did you get sick? I thought eating too much candy made you sick. Why do you have to eat candy to stop getting sick?"

Cole felt touched and angry that Melody was this upset over it - touched by her care and worry for his condition and anger at himself for making her see him like that. He really thought he could go however long they would survive this without Melody having to see him sick like that.

He held the chocolate bar in between his teeth while he sat her down in his lap. "Melody... I'm sick." He revealed after he regained hold of the chocolate bar. He hated revealing this to everyone he cared about. It never got easier and it was never fun.

"Are you gonna die?" She already had tears in her eyes at the possibility.

"What!? No!" He quickly defused that theory running around her head. He used his thumb to start brushing her tears away. "I'm not gonna die, Honey. I just need to eat something with sugar in it or I get sick. That's it." Of course there was more to it, but he wasn't sure how to explain the specifics of blood sugar to a five-year old girl. He was just focused on getting her to stop crying. He hated seeing her upset. It made him feel like a failure.

Melody sniffed, "That's it? You just have to eat candy so you don't get sick?" Her voice was returning to a normal tone.

He smiled, "That's it."

"So when I ate your candy last night, I made you get sick?" She saddened as she remembered the night before.

Cole was shocked that Melody seemed to keep redirecting the blame to herself. "No, it wasn't your fault. If anything, it's my fault. But listen to me, Melody," she gazed sadly up at him. "Don't ever be scared to ask me for some of my candy if you're hungry and want some. I want you to feel comfortable around me. If I'm gonna be watching you, I want us to be close friends, okay?" He broke off a piece of his chocolate bar and held it out for her. She hesitated. "Come on, if you don't, I'll give it to Nate instead." She slowly took it from him. She looked up one last time for confirmation. He nodded as she ate it. "See? I'm okay."

She smiled before giving a light giggle. "Okay..." She grabbed her still messy hair. "You wanna try brushing my hair again?"

"Like I said before, no." He laughed. "Let's go ask Lori for some help." He felt better now that his stomach was settling. He gave a dismissive wave over to Nate when he glanced his way, seeing the chocolate bar and Cole sitting and looking like he put two and two together. His temporary distracting himself was enough for Carl to tag him on the shoulder. Nate gave chase while Cole laughed at his little brother.

Cole and Melody resumed their walk over to where Lori and Amy were still folding the clothes. Their footsteps had given Lori and Amy warning they were coming as they turned before they could make it all the way.

Lori laughed at Melody's hair, "You know I gave you that brush to fix her hair - not make it worse."

Cole was red in the face, "Yeah, well... You see I did try, but..."

"He sucks at brushing hair." Melody blurted out.

"Yeah, that." He nodded to the little girl. "So... I was thinking I propose this sweet deal." Amused, Lori shared a smile with Amy. "I fold the laundry and you can do me a swell favor by brushing Melody's hair for me." He said, gesturing back and forth between them as he spoke.

"Gee, that is a sweet deal." Lori cracked, getting a laugh out of Cole and giggles from Melody and Amy. "Yeah, it's fine with me." Cole handed her back the brush while she handed him the pair of pants she was about to fold when he showed up. "Come on, Sweetie. Let's show Cole how to do this right." Lori motioned for Melody to kneel on the soft dirt before she began upstaging Cole, who was doing his best to avoid looking at the smirk he knew was on Lori's face.

"I never knew someone could be bad at brushing hair." Amy said as she slid a glance at Cole.

"I am never hearing the end of this, am I?" He mostly asked himself that question, but he was still treated with a yep response from Lori and Amy. "The knots are a pain to get out. I'd get one and move to the other and the first one re-knots itself. It's a cycle."

"Sure," Amy boasted. "Remember, if you can't fold the laundry, I'll be happy to do it for you." Lori cracked a chuckle as she cleaned up Cole's mess with Melody's hair.

"I should've went with Glenn to Atlanta or Daryl and Merle hunting." He said, looking pointedly at both women as he folded the pants neatly before setting them in the pile and picking up a shirt.

"Come on, we're just poking fun." Amy reached out to slap him lightly on the shoulder. Cole blushed a little at the contact.

"I get enough of that from Miss Messy Hair over here," Melody grinned when Cole addressed her. "Making fun of my inability to do simple tasks is a special occurrence between the two of us."

"It's really fun!" Melody said, getting Lori and Amy to laugh while Cole lowered his head.

"You were supposed to be on my side..." He complained. "Can we talk about something else besides my inability to brush a girl's hair?"

"I don't know..." Amy pondered. "It is fun - like Melody said." Cole narrowed his eyes at her. "Fine, geez I was just kidding." She rolled her eyes. "So what do we talk about then?"

"How about twenty questions?" Melody asked. All three sets of eyes were on her, wondering how she even came up with that idea. "Nate taught it to me. We play it all the time."

"It's that what you two are doing when I tell you to go to bed?" Cole asked.

Melody blinked, "... No?" Again, Amy and Lori were laughing at their banter.

Cole shrugged, "It's fine, Mel, I'm not mad. That's fine with me if you two are up for it."

"It is a good way to get to know each other..." Lori agreed. She actually remembered something similar to when she, Rick and Shane met for the first time in high school. Their version involved alcohol Shane had swiped from his uncle's liquor cabinet, a Rick who wouldn't divulge in the alcohol, and lots of drunken slurs between her and Shane not long after. She barely remembered it, but knew that it was a good time.

"So Melody, since you were the one to bring it up, why don't you ask the first question." Cole offered.

Melody beamed, "Okay! Amy!" She looked towards the blonde girl while Lori continued to do her hair, her smile never leaving her face. "Do you like unicorns!"

"Yes I do!" Amy gave an excited squeal. Cole almost fell to the ground from the sudden screech by his ear. Lori's smile expanded. "Do you like mermaids?"

"Mermaids are awesome! Cole got me a mermaid book from a bookstore!" Melody revealed. Cole remembered that. He had stopped at the store to see if it had anything he could use and had stumbled upon the book. It helped keep Melody's mind off of things, so he was glad he had found it.

"No way!"

"You wanna see?"

Amy was about to respond with an ecstatic 'hell yeah', but refrained when she saw the amused glances she was getting from both Lori and Cole. She turned red in embarrassment before readdressing Melody. "We can look later."

"Okay!" Melody seemed to not mind one way or another. "Can I ask Lori a question?"

"Yes," the woman in question nodded. "What's on your mind, Honey?"

"What's your favorite color?" She kept the questions coming in a lively tone that only a child could muster. Cole admired it, but he had to wonder about her. He's known her for close to a month now and not once has he heard her cry about her dad. Her mother wasn't brought up and Cole never asked outside of the one time to see if he could bring her somewhere. It worried him that she could go on without shedding even one tear for her father - although he probably wouldn't either if his dad shoved him to Walkers, but he was older. She was only five. It was something he feared over.

Lori pondered the question, "I'll have to say purple. Ever since I was a little girl, I was just always drawn to it."

"I like green!" Melody quipped. "What's yours, Amy?"

"Pink!" She responded with as much fervor. Cole snickered, causing Amy to turn to him. "What's so funny about that?"

"I don't know." He gave a shrug, smile still present on his face. "It just makes sense, I guess." He gave another shrug.

"What's yours then - blue?"

"Nope. Gray." He smirked at getting one over here for her earlier comment about making fun of him being fun.

"Really? Gray?" She had to ask with a slightly scrunched up face. "That's such a dull color - no offense." She quickly added.

"So? I like it." He defended.

"She's right though." Lori laughed. "I've never heard anyone say that they like gray."

"I get this all the time..." Cole muttered. "There's a reason I like it."

"What's the reason?"

Cole blushed just a little bit. "I... don't feel like saying..."

"Oh come on!" Amy whined. "Why not?"

"Because... reasons?"

"That's such bull!"

"It's true."

Amy huffed, "Fine. Since you're so dead set on not talking about it, I'll drop it." Cole grinned in victory. "But now you have my interest peeked and I'll figure it out."

"Yeah, good luck with that." Cole rolled his eyes as he folded the shirt he has forgotten was resting in his lap.

"I was in college learning to be a detective before all this." Amy revealed. "I was doing fairly well in my classes too. Trust me, I'll coax the truth out of you somehow."

"A detective?" Lori's interest was peeked. "Wow. I always assumed you were following in Andrea's footsteps in being a lawyer since you went on once about how proud you were of her."

"I was gonna go for a criminal lawyer career and not civil rights, but I decided that I wanted to be distinctive from her somehow." Amy explained.

Lori nodded. "I have a question for Cole." She went back and forth on whether or not it was appropriate to even ask this, but seeing how Cole's little team functioned, she was craving an answer.

"Shoot..." He said.

"How did you meet up with guys like the Dixons?" Lori asked. Cole had to smirk. He'd been waiting for that question for days. He was more surprised it took someone this long to ask. "You haven't explained how you all came to be together."

"It's not exactly a story worth writing home about," Cole explained with a shrug. "I ran into them on the road, we joined up, and the next day we found Glenn." He gave another shrug. "See? About as interesting as watching leaves fall from a tree." He grabbed another shirt, "And they aren't really that bad. Merle is just a smartass if anything."

"You cursed," Melody pointed a finger at him. Amy and Lori failed to stifle their laughs at Melody reprimanding Cole for his language.

Cole imitated Melody from earlier and covered his mouth with both hands after setting the shirt in his lap. "Sorry!" He muffled. Melody giggled at his act.

"How'd you meet up with this little cutie?" Amy asked as she watched the interaction between the two. Cole immediately grew serious as the question was asked. Since Amy was looking at Melody, she missed his change in posture.

Lori saw it though, "Is it something bad?"

'Oh yeah it's something bad.' Cole thought, letting his mind take him back to that clinic and what had transpired. He still had the son-of-a-bitch haunting him in his dreams on really bad nights. That was probably the only part he disliked about being here at the camp - he had more opportunities to sleep longer and continue the mental game of cat and mouse.

Out loud, he shrugged, "Isn't every first meeting story nowadays bad? I haven't met someone who said they met up with a person whilst going to the store."

"Apparently, your first meeting with the Dixons was so boring that it wasn't worth talking about." Amy reminded. "Therefore, it was a good first meeting."

Cole grumbled at his words being turned on him. She was right. "Do I have to?"

"Any newcomers here usually tell their story since we have about nothing else to do aside from chores. It's become sort of a tradition." Lori stated. "So, in a way, yes you do."

Cole gave a half-hearted glare at the woman before sucking in a large breath. He remembered the version of the story he gave to Merle and Daryl and was about to start storytime.

"Cole found me at the doctors office." Melody started talking, catching the trio of adults off guard as they were expecting Cole to talk. "I was with my daddy when the Walkers came from the check-up room."

"Melody, I'll finish the story-"

"Daddy pushed me to the Walkers." Amy and Lori gasped loudly at her revelation whilst hearing what happened again forced Cole to control his anger. He felt like killing something every time he remembered that. "Cole saved me..." She gave a smile at him. If she was upset at her dad almost killing her, she didn't show it. "He let me stay with him."

Cole nodded, "That's about half of it..."

"Jesus, man." a new voice startled all four of them as Shane walked out of seemingly thin air. It was like he spawned in right there.

"Goddamn it, Shane!" Lori reprimanded him, barely having held back her grip from tightening around Melody's locks. "Don't sneak up on people nowadays!"

"Yeah! I almost had a heart attack!" Amy added.

"If I had a weapon, you'd be dead!" Cole was patting on his chest.

Shane held his hands up in surrender. "Didn't mean to scare y'all." He apologized. "I was coming back up from the lake and heard you ask Cole for his story. Naturally, I got curious." He turned to the man in question. "That's fucked up what happened to her. Thank God you were there."

"I say the same thing every day," he agreed. He turned to the little girl he saved, who was getting the final touches of a ponytail done with her hair. "She'd be dead or worse if I hadn't been around. I don't like to think about it."

"I know that feeling," Shane shared a look with Lori, both remembering the early days of the outbreak. Shane had gone for her and Carl and without him, Lori doubted they'd both still be here. "Sometimes we're moved to the places we have to be at when something happens. You were there to save Melody and I was there for Lori and Carl. That's why we went where we did."

"That's a nice way of looking at it." Cole nodded.

"So... I assume her 'father'," Shane was very careful with use of that word, "Didn't make it?" He avoided asking the direct question as Melody was still right there. Amy and Lori awaited the answer too, both silently hoping that it wasn't a particularly slow exit. Any parent that would sacrifice their child didn't deserve to be around.

"Karma is most definitely a bitch." Cole smirked, Shane giving one back as he and the women accepted the answer. Cole cut the smirk off his face when he realized what he was doing.

"Cole!" Melody frowned. "You cursed again!"

"Sorry!" He apologized.

"Looks like she's in charge of your little group," Shane joked. "Anyway, that's a good thing you did. You should inform the rest of the group." Cole looked confused. "There's still some doubts about you," gee, Cole rolled his eyes - he wondered why. "Letting the others be aware of it would be instrumental in burying any and all tension left. People love a hero story."

Cole thought about it. He still had his concerns about talking about what happened - his anger getting harder and harder to put to rest every time he talked or thought about it. On the other hand, he did want to stay here - if only for Melody and Nate - and he would like to do so without someone second guessing him.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." He turned to Lori. "My turn to uphold the tradition, right?" She just gave a smile as she finished up the workings of Melody's ponytail.

"Cool," Shane nodded. "Tonight then around the campfire."

"I'll be there..." He begrudgingly agreed. Speaking in front of a small group he was cool with. Speaking in front of a large crowd where judgement was more critical now than it ever had been before? Oh yeah. He was not having fun tonight.

...

Daryl was - for the first time since the world ended - pleasantly surprised.

He and Merle had gotten back from their hunting trip just a little bit before lunchtime. Like always, they weren't expecting any kind of welcome back from the group. Merle had set his rifle down by his tent while Daryl unstrapped the dead rabbits from over his shoulder and tossed them towards where they had their fire every night. It was what could be considered status quo by now - Dixons hunt; come back to an unwelcoming camp; skin meals; maybe talk to Cole; and repeat the process the next day.

Only this time they were welcomed back by Melody, who had even brought them both a stick for their fire. Merle had given his usual grin and wrapped the girl in a light headlock while Daryl had taken his with caution. He was certainly not afraid of Melody, but the same anxiety he had when the Walkers first made their existence known to him had arrived; albeit on a smaller scale. He had mumbled a thanks to the girl while he went to begin skinning his upcoming meal.

His surprise had stayed with him all day and into the early hours of the night - where his surprise yet again made itself known when Cole, out of the fuckin' blue, began telling his story to the camp. Daryl wasn't expecting for that to happen, but very quickly shrugged it off. He wasn't Cole's babysitter. He could do what ever the hell he wanted. He hadn't even bothered listening as he already knew the story.

Merle, on the other hand, had laughed and given Daryl's knee another slap that had Daryl beginning to work on a plan to crack him over the head with a log. "Good on him! Get the sympathy of the public." He had said that only loud enough for Daryl to hear him. Either that or the group was learning to let Merle's remarks go in one ear and out the other. If they were, then they were learning well, Daryl felt.

"That's a hell of a story..." T-Dog - a large black man that Merle had gotten off on the very wrong foot with - had answered. Hearing his voice had Merle rolling his eyes as he half-paid attention to the situation while he controlled the fire. Merle apparently had 'accidentally' called the man a nigger when engaging him in conversation. Daryl bought it like a blind man buying reading glasses.

"Fitting for a hellish world, wouldn't you say?" Cole had retorted, holding Melody in his lap as he played with her hair. The little girl was fast asleep. Nate was sitting next to his brother, letting his words play over in his head.

"Hope her dad is delivered to hell in a hand basket." Andrea had a disgusted look on her face that hadn't left since Cole revealed what Melody's father had done. "Son-of-a-bitch deserved a more gruesome death." Amy looked like she wanted to agree, but withheld expressing a similar input. She shared a look with Lori that had the other woman silently agreeing with Andrea's statement as well.

"Jesus..." Morales had mumbled. "A kid saving a child from her dad and Walkers... And having to take her in..." He sighed. "The world really is messed up if that happened." His wife Miranda grabbed his shoulder with Morales reaching to grab her hand and tighten the hold.

"Could've been worse," Cole played it off. Daryl watched him grow really uncomfortable with all this attention. He had to smirk to himself about the whole thing. He decided to tell the story - now he had to deal with all the reactions to it. "I just did what I felt was right."

Dale had given the boy a nod of the head from his spot across the fire. "It was the right thing to do." He assured. "Don't worry about it." He kindly spoke. "You saved a little girl when others probably would've not given her another glance." Dale smiled, "Be proud of it." Again, Cole was shifting in his spot ever so subtly that if Daryl wasn't watching him, he'd have missed it. Daryl was so busy watching Cole that he missed Dale do the same.

"You never let me know what happened when you found Melody..." Nate said, garnering the attention of the camp with his sudden announcement. Daryl glanced over to see the look of hurt that was on the kid's face. He looked almost betrayed as well that his brother didn't divulge into his first encounter with the little girl both of the Jackson siblings had taken in as family.

"I didn't wanna scare you, Bud." Cole reached out to snare an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. "I wanted to protect you from it."

"I've seen you kill Walkers and I saw Dad try to kill me..." He reminded, causing the adults to all stare solemnly at him. Even though everyone had a horror story these days, hearing a new one was as terrifying as the one you had actually experienced yourself; especially if it came from the mouth of a kid. "Nothing scares me anymore."

Cole knew that was a blatant lie. The sounds of his brother's crying about their dad had been another source of agony for him over his sleepless nights. It hurt worse than the pain he had at killing his dad. Still, he nodded at his brother, "I know... Doesn't stop me from doing what I can to protect you."

There was one more question that was on everyone's minds. A question that they were all too polite to ask. Either luckily or unluckily - Merle had no such restraints.

"Where's your mom in all this, Sugar Daddy?" Merle had made his and Daryl's presence reminded amongst the camp. "You haven't mentioned her yet."

Cole sighed. Nate had moved his head to bury it in Cole's chest, silencing what everyone knew were sobs. Daryl had given Merle a hard knock to the shoulder while the group all turned to stare at him like if Merle had physically attacked the guy.

"Merle, shut the fuck up." Daryl grumbled.

"I'm just curious..." He defended. "I didn't mean to inconvenience the guy." Daryl scoffed as he began paddling the dirt with a stick to avoid the stares coming their way. When Merle did something, he got thrown under the bus as well just for sharing his last name.

"She left us years ago..." Cole said, redirecting the attention back to him. "She left us after she had a miscarriage." Stunned silence replaced the curious silence that the group seemed to be switching between through all night. "I don't know where she is." He shrugged. "She could be dead, alive, or whatever." He answered.

Now it was an awkward silence that had washed over the group. Nate's muffled sobs were what seemed to be increasing the overwhelming unease the group had. This went on for about twenty seconds before Shane became the first with the courage to try and move past it.

"Sorry for that." He apologized. "And I'm sorry if me pressuring you earlier to tell your story caused any inconvenience."

"It's fine, really," Cole said. "I actually feel somewhat relieved that this is all out in the open." He moved his hand from playing with Melody's hair to stroke Nate's. "Now there's no tension between us... I hope."

"I think I can speak for everyone when I say that everything's fine." Shane smiled. "Thanks for telling. Now we all have a better understanding of who you are."

Cole gave a smile that Daryl was guessing was forced. His lips were not all there and his eyes were approaching crestfallen. Daryl frowned. The group began dispersing to their individual tents with the exception of T-Dog, who was going to take first watch. Daryl went to looking like he hadn't been studying Cole when the boy had began heading his way with Melody cradled in his arms and Nate slowly following him, his eyes still foggy. It looked like the kid wouldn't be sleeping much tonight. When it was just the two Dixons, Merle tossed a rock in front of Daryl.

"What?" Daryl turned to glare at him.

"You see Sugar Daddy's face?" Merle casually asked like it was another day at the water cooler. "Same kind of face that asshole Ash had when he said he didn't sell me out to the feds." Daryl's frown deepened, but this time more in thought. "Probably reaching for the gates of hell here, but it could mean that his story is only a half-baked tale?"

"Had similar ideas..." Daryl admitted. "Something that needs to be dealt with?"

"Nah," Merle shook his head. "It's not important. Everyone should have some skeletons in their closet. It's only right. Keeps the interest alive."

Daryl gave a shrug before he watched Merle disappear into his tent. He stayed situated in his spot on the log for a good minute or two before he heard the sound of a scuffle. Eyes trained like a predator, he deduced the location as coming from another tent by the RV. Sighing in relief that it wasn't a Walker, he did his best to ignore the events going on behind the flab. He felt he was doing an okay job of that before the sound of flesh connecting with flesh was heard.

He jumped. Honest to fuckin' God he jumped in fear at the sound. It took him a second to realize that it hadn't been him on the receiving end of the hit. His jump caused his knee to surge with pain, forcing him to sit on his ass in the dirt to let it slowly leave. He sat there as he unconventionally flinched every time the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed; at least to him it did. He heard the sound of a zipper and the sounds of footsteps moving across the dirt. He adjusted himself so he was back on the log, trying to seem like he hadn't moved since storytime.

He looked up through the corners of his eyelashes to see that it was a woman who was walking away from the tent. It was the gray haired lady he'd seen around with the officer's wife. He couldn't remember her name. He did however know that she had a daughter and a dickhead of a husband.

His brain put the pieces together immediately.

He watched her pace around like a lost animal. He also spared a glance upward to the supposed watch on the RV to see that his attention was elsewhere. Daryl tried to not pay attention. Other people's problems were just that - other people's problems. Why should he care? He didn't have a handle on his own shit.

He was close to standing up to depart from the vicinity of the woman. He was only stopped from it when she gave a wince. He wasn't looking, but he felt himself halt like if that wince spoke out to him and told him to sit his ass still. Hell, he'd had a few experiences where that would actually happen.

Unfortunately for Daryl, his decision to remain still allowed him to be noticed. "Sorry - I didn't know someone was still out here..." The woman had stuttered, seemingly taken off guard by his sudden appearance. Daryl understood why - he had to look fuckin' creepy sitting still in the dark by a fire. He looked up at her to see that she was just on the opposite side of the fire. She must've been walking to go somewhere when his sudden appearance scared her.

"Was 'bout to leave..." He assured. He got back on his feet to start kicking dirt into the fire, but fell to the log again when his knee acted up. He hurriedly sat down to rub at it. He swore it was getting worse.

"Your knee..." He grunted when he realized that she had saw. He hated looking weak in front of others. He hadn't been allowed to afford that luxury throughout his life and he didn't want to start dealing with the repercussions now - no matter who saw; even if it was a harmless woman.

"It's nothin'." He shrugged it off. Still, he didn't make a move to stand up. He could feel his knee start to shake and throb on its own, and by extent - his leg. He looked like one of those energetic pricks who couldn't sit still for the life of 'em.

"It's dislocated." She suddenly pointed out.

Daryl had to give her a curious look at hearing that. "Dislocated?" He looked down to his knee to try and find signs that that was true. He rolled up the pants leg to get a better look.

"The knee is up farther than it should be." She motioned down towards the knee. Daryl looked and - compared side-by-side with his other knee - it did look to be coming closer to his face. He mentally winced when he saw that. Out of place body parts was something he could never get used to. "I could help you." She offered almost shyly. Daryl swore he was talking to one of them kids who all looked at him and Merle like if they were the punk kids from school.

"You a doctor?" He asked.

"No... Just experienced." Daryl frowned. He could imagine why. "You should find something to bite." She stepped around the fire to get closer to him. Had he not needed her experience to do this without pulling his knee out, Daryl woulda flinched at the close proximity. He felt his head jolt to the side instead. "It'll hurt..." She warned regretfully. Daryl just bit into his sleeve, urging her to get it over with. She began putting the pressure on his knee - with Daryl wincing and groaning into the sleeve. He was gripping onto the log with his nails digging into the wood to try and release some of the pain - drawing blood in the process.

She continued applying the pressure to his dislocated knee. Daryl was grateful he was sturdy enough to not be holding back tears and instead just had to contend with screams. Finally - just as he was beginning to think she wasn't finishing up on purpose - he heard the crack of his knee popping back into place. The sudden rejoining of his body parts had Daryl groaning in agony with his lungs desperately trying to get some air back into them. He panted loudly once he took the sleeve out of his mouth.

"Son-of-a-bitch..." He winced.

"It'll be sore for a few days." She said. "You should take it easy for better results." Her tone was hushed as she overlooked her work. "Sorry for hurting you."

"Knee was doing more damage than you did. Least now it won't get me killed..." Daryl gave her a nod - his way of giving his thanks and appreciation for her help.

She nodded back, "I'm happy I was of help to someone..." She whispered. She started backing away. "I should get back." She felt she stayed out for too long, her hand holding her elbow as she swerved off back to her family's tent. She mentally braced for the likely attack waiting for her.

Daryl watched her leave, keeping a steady gaze until he saw her enter her tent. His mouth had opened for some odd reason that he lost within a second of thinking of it, so he shut it. He stretched out his leg and - like she had said - it was sore. He, however, noticed a major upside as he didn't feel as much pain. She was right. Couple hours or days rest and he'd be as good as he was before Merle's kamikaze attack on the tree. It irked him though that she was right on how to pop bones back into place.

Stretching his leg out for a minute, Daryl nodded in satisfaction before he put his fire out and departed towards his tent to begin that recommend resting.

End of Chapter 3 of End of Days

There's setup here as I've explained above and more exposition on Cole. Like Merle and Daryl said though, something seems a little fishy about what he's saying. There's hints scattered in this chapter if you're curious.

And for things about the dialogue that may seem pointless or unimportant... There's a reason for it. It may be hints about the future, the past, or it may not mean anything and I'm just screwing with you. ;) I try to make sure everything has a reason when I write it in, whether it is big or small.

It's so weird going back to a Carol who's in the shadow of her husband. I'm so used to Terminator!Carol now that I almost feel like she's OOC here. If you were wondering why I wasn't addressing her by name, it's because that scene was in Daryl's POV and he doesn't know it yet.

We'll get more Walker action next time. Glenn'll have his time to shine when he and someone else go to Atlanta next chapter. I know that he didn't take anyone else until his meeting with Rick, but this is a re-imagining. As to who it is, I'll give a you a hint: It's not Cole.

Hope you guys all enjoyed the chapter and remember to hit that review button. The more feedback equals faster updates.

Next Time: Olives and Walkers


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